The necromancer
by BenAddict Holmes
Summary: Post Reichenbach. Sherlock returns to London. The London he left behind is long gone to be replaced by something else entirely. AU. Fantasy!lock. Please read and review!
1. The tourist

**Author's note : Yes, another fic. :) Brand new story. Post Reichenbach. Sherlock returns to London to find that the London he left behind is long gone and has been replaced by an alternate universe. **

**Fantasy!lock. **

**It has not been written by me. I'm only uploading it on the behalf of my friend Aditya who I think is a brilliant author.**

**Please read and review!**

**Disclaimer : In this case, I own nothing except the works in bold. Everything else belongs to Aditya, Sir ACD, Gatiss and Moffat. **

Part 1: The Tourist

Dust blew in the wind, slowly, steadily. All life was in that dust, silent and smiling.

He found himself looking around with a sense of familiarity. Yet he had no idea where he was. The last he remembered, he'd been wandering in the darkening streets of London. Then a sudden colorful psychedelic echo filled him up but he never felt it for before he could he was here, he knew not where.

He limped ahead leaning on his walking stick, a tourist of sorts. This was a magical place, he could feel it. Maybe he had seen its pictures somewhere…. twisted buildings with glass domes reflecting the twilight colors of the sky. Maybe he had dreamed of it sometime, maybe he was dreaming right now. What a place to live in, he thought. But he looked around and saw no one. In a distant park and there was no laughter, no children. No young couple decorating the benches. In the city, no men and no women, just empty streets and empty sounds and that gentle breeze trying to make some music.

He moved on, his mind straining and spinning, dancing pink in the city's familiarity and strangeness. But then he had traveled so much that everything seemed familiar to him now.

THACK!

He turned with amazing speed and saw the old man standing behind him.

"Who are you, boy?" asked the old man. He was clutching a staff in one hand; his other hand disappearing within the folds of his rich garment. His shriveled face betrayed a lifetime of experiments. And his body betrayed a suspicious amount of strength. And his eyes betrayed cunning and power and a hint of madness.

"I am a tourist who doesn't know where he is, sir," the tourist said, warily. "But it sure seems a strange place. If I may ask, who are you? And where is everybody else?"

"It's a beautiful city, my boy," the old man replied, eyes glinting and lips curling. "The most wonderful city there ever was. And everybody else, well they are gone. It's a long tale, boy; you might as well come in if you want to know".

And he followed the old man into the darkening house which was throwing nightmare shadows on the parched land. He had nothing better to do after all and a good story is always efficient bait.

Behind him the park slowly changed with time, the benches twisted and the iron hand rests began to go from black to transparent. One slow shade at a time.

**A/n : And that was chapter one.**

**How was it?**

**Please let me know!**

**If convenient, leave a review.**

**If inconvenient, leave a review all the same. **

**I love you guys.**

**Aditi xoxoxo**


	2. Everyone else

**Author's note : How are you guys? Well, I've had a really busy week so couldn't update. I'm sorry! I hope you like this. Please review.**

**Part 2: Everybody Else**

Unlike the hallucinogenic exterior, the interior of the house was all pastel shades. As soon as he entered, the tourist saw that there was a table in the center of the room and astonishingly, there were already two steaming mugs of tea in it. He took the chair facing the old man but did not taste the tea, suspicious. Waiting.

The old man took no notice but began his tale:  
"This is a story of a time when the city was still young. When children frolicked in the parks and the racket of mankind was the music in this air. And everyone was rich and everyone was happy. They were happy because they all did just what they wanted to do in life for they were provided all that they wanted by the city. By this magic city.

"You must be wondering about the tea", he said, his sly lips curling at the corners. "It came from the city. By magic. Whatever these people asked for would be theirs, riches, food, two cups of tea…..

"But that old crook Fate, he has a wicked sense of humor and one dark day, through the mists that cut away the city from everything else, walked in a necromancer. They looked at his shriveled face and could see what the darkness had done to him. His thin body held a tremendous amount of strength. And his eyes, they were the ones that terrified the people the most. For his eyes betrayed power and cunning and sheer madness. His shadow shrouded the city and the people, who had never even known about the outside world, trembled with fear

"The children were the first to start going mad. Then the elders as well. The city was in chaos. But he did not stop there. He did not end it. Who knows what his reasons were? Some say he had lost his wife due to his experiments and thus happiness to this extent drove him to it. Some say the magic of this place soothed him and he wanted all of it for himself and the citizens were a menace. And since necromancers are forbidden to kill, he did the next thing. He raised his dark staff and put them all to sleep and trapped them in the realm of nightmares. A few found a snag in the mist and escaped.

"But everyone else boy, they are lying in the central buildings. Like corpses. And they cannot die and they cannot live. They can only dream, forever. And he still haunts this place, feeding on the magic. I wonder what will happen when it runs out…."

**A/n : That was chapter 2. Only one more left.**

**Review maybe?**

**Aditi xoxoxo**


	3. The old man

**Part 3: The Old Man**

By now the old man was standing at the window. He had finished his tea and had moved about a lot to add drama to the whole story. The tourist just sat there, his tea untouched, his face in a frown. For a bit he had looked around as if half expecting the necromancer to come crashing into him any moment. The story seemed to have affected him deeply.

"And you? You never said who you are sir", he said slowly, as if trying to shake off the awe.

"Me? The man turned to face him. You may say I am the caretaker of the sleepers….." he chuckled. His eyes held him as he clutched his staff and asked the tourist, "What do you think about the story huh? Would you like to live in a land of dreams boy? Immortal…. I could care for you too then….." he was clutching his staff hard….his knuckles were white….."just like them….only….."

With a sudden moment the tourist was up, the chair flying away from him. With lightning speed he caught both the knives that had come spinning towards him from behind. Blood dripped from his palms, and he grabbed his staff. Time stopped breathing then and the scene was revealed. Behind him, there stood a man who looked about the tourist's age, his attacker. Strewn around him were bars of gold. The old man was standing in front of him, his eyes were wide. The tourist was at the table. His handsome face did not betray his past. His thin body held a tremendous amount of strength. And his eyes…..his ice blue eyes burned with the power of a thousand splendid suns.

"How dare you try to impersonate me!", he wasn't shouting, but the anger was apparent and his voiced boomed between the two walls. "I remember everything now. You scoundrel, where is the snag in the mist that you use to get in here?"

The old man told him. The snag was there no more.

"You filthy thieves", the necromancer still in his guise of the tourist nearly spat those words. "No wonder this city is in this state! You have depleted the magic so much…..taken it all away…. Away from the rightful owners, the dreamers. Because of you their dreamworld will be losing its colors and life. Your punishment will be given by them, for eternity. Go, go dream with them but your dream will be a nightmare."

And the thieves both collapsed. Their sleeping bodies not betraying a hint of the punishment their souls were facing in the dreamworld.  
The necromancer remembered everything. How just like this he had been pulled into the city. The terrible disease plaguing the people. He couldn't help them though….. all he could do was this. That's all the Dream lord had given him. But they were happy there, happy once again.

Forever.

And he remembered Molly. His poor Molly, how she had died. How he had tried everything to bring her back, but she was dead too deep. Even he couldn't help her. Of course he had helped these people, saved all their love! And these were the stories they told of him…

He stood there a broken man and all his age was revealed to no one. The wind was howling in the background, weeping for love and loss. He picked up his staff and decided to put himself to sleep as well, final use of the magic. There, he could be with her…..in his dreams...

Forever.

But before he could do anything the city spat him out onto the outskirts of London. It was still twilight. And his mind already began to forget the city….. he walked on and soon all he remembered was Molly, something to do with Molly. He went to bed that night and dreamed of her.

And he was with her…..in sunshine and rain… in summer and winter. He was happy and she would be with him…..Forever.

**A/n : I hope you guys understood what happened. It took me a long while ;)**

**Anyway, I hope you all liked the story. Please leave a review !**

**Aditi xoxoxo**

**PS : Next chapter of Reconciliation will be up tonight. :)**

**Cya!**


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